The Political Column

13th December 1998

The great North Western test

By our Political Correspondent

The elections to the North West ern Provincial Council will be a national test of strength for both the ruling PA and the opposition UNP.

Thus the two parties are throwing everything they have into the campaign. But most political analysts believe the campaign will be based more on attacks particularly personal attacks than on any national issues.

Others are questioning the validity of the NWP elections, asking what the people are going to achieve from it while the North-East war is still raging and other problems remain unresolved.

Over and above this, is the general feeling that most Provincial Councils have provided little besides more perks and privileges for second string, if not second rate, politicians. When the government put off the elections to five other PCs in August, it cited security concerns. Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte at that stage said the war had reached a crucial juncture and it would be difficult or more so dangerous to withdraw troops from the battlefront for election security. What has happened to the war today is another question. But the government's decision to hold the NWP elections at this point is inconsistent and strange. Perhaps the government wants to feel the pulse of the people in view of the ever-escalating cost of living and the terrible Goods and Sales Tax (GST) which is hitting the people from all sides.

For the PA, at least, half a dozen frontliners are already on the field in the NWP to spearhead the campaign. Amid signs of violence by some PA supporters, the UNP is also throwing its top leaders into the NWP campaign. Violence and tension have already gripped the Kurunegala and Puttalam districts with both major parties being responsible. One government politician expressed fears of a virtual war during the NWP polls, given the ugly way in which the campaign started.

At the UNP Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, Asoka Wadigamangawa who resigned his parliamentary seat to contest the NWP elections said it would be possible for the UNP to retain control of the province if there was adequate support from the top leadership and others outside the NWP. He warned that the PA supporters might try vote rigging and there could be many a slip between the voter and the ballot box.

Former Chief Minister Nimal Bandara, also expressed similar fears but said the UNP could still win if it went all out. UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said the election strategy should be discussed at different forums which should devise their own strategy to make the campaign a success.

The UNP has already complained to the Elections Department that a large number of Cabinet Ministers had entered the nomination centre in Kurunegala with their security officials though the law permitted only three persons. The party says law enforcing agencies are helpless because of government pressure.

Meanwhile, in an obvious election-oriented move the government has ordered an investigation into an old incident in Pannala where a hand grenade was thrown at a meeting chaired by the then DUNF Leader Lalith Athulathmudali. The government leaders apparently feel they could get some political mileage from this probe while keeping their estranged coalition partner Srimani Athulathmudali within the fold.

Ms. Athulathmudali is also likely to get a new lease of political life in the PA soon after the elections, apparently to please Lalith supporters. But the voters are confused as a number of original DUNF members including Johnstone Fernando from Kurunegala, are contesting under the UNP list.

One Lalith Front insider says that on May 8 and again June 12, the party's Working Committee met to discuss three issues relating to provincial elections: (1) whether to go with the PA; (2) to go it alone; and (3) to drop both and go along with the UNP. At this meeting, a majority of the members felt the PA had broken most promises and done little for the people. They decided that in view of current realities it would not be possible. Thus, they decided to go along with the UNP in contesting provincial elections. He said this decision was taken by a vote of 84 to 5 at the Working Committee.

However, on the day before the nominations, Ms. Athulathmudali backed down and stuck with the PA.Now it is a battle between Ms. Athulathmudali on one side and a majority of the Working Committee on the other, he said. According to him 99 percent of the members are on one side while Ms. Athulathmudali and a few others like Kesaralal Gunasekera are on the other.

As for the UNP, it has to settle its squabbles, especially the clash between Festus Perera and Asoka Wadigamangawa in the NWP. Another problem is a dispute over the nomination of Jayawickrema Perera as the Chief Ministerial candidate. This is known to be opposed by some UNP top rungers in Kurunegala.

Another significant development of the week was the nomination of a UNP team for talks to liaise with the business community on ways of settling the ethnic conflict through a bi-partisan political approach. The UNP team led by A.C.S. Hameed includes Ronnie de Mel, K.N. Choksy and D. Swaminathan. The PA has nominated G.L. Peiris, A.H.M. Ashraff, Neville Kanakaratne and K. Viknarajah.

In a letter to the business community's Coordinating President, Lalith Kotelawala, the UNP says the talks should centre on the Liam Fox agreement for bi-partisanship between the PA and the UNP.

Mr. Wickremesinghe's letter states that the committee should work towards the implementation of the Liam Fox agreement.

"To start this process, the government should talk to the LTTE. If the government decides otherwise, what is this committee going to do," a senior politician queried.

There is a lot of scepticism over this matter and as to what the national committee appointed under the initiative of the business leaders could achieve. There does not seem to be a definite plan, another politician said. Meanwhile, the diplomatic circles are not very impressed with the UNP's response. It is no breakthrough, one diplomat said.

But there is optimism in other quarters. They point out that the business leaders have been able, at least, to get both the government and the opposition to work with them. In that connection, Mr. Kotelawala has every reason to be happy.

But the more important question is whether the government would talk to the LTTE. If not, it will be similar to the exercise of the Constitutional Committee which is facing a stalemate situation at the moment. Government sources ask what the UNP expects when it pushes the government to respond to the LTTE's call. They say the UNP is basically opposed to the merger of the North and the East and any concept of a Tamil homeland. The party leadership disassociated itself from the submissions made by its own members at the Select Committee. They say the UNP's alternative proposals are far short of the aspirations of the minority and the government could turn back and ask what is there to talk to the LTTE when the UNP offers little.

Government quarters feel that even if there was an agreement, the UNP would drag its feet.

It is apparent that the government is in no hurry to talk to the LTTE because of the UNP factor.

In another turn of events, the military thrust initiated by the government to open the main supply route has also come to a grinding halt following a sudden decision. However, military sources said that their objective has not been changed.

But the government owes an explanation to the people as to why the military thrust came to a halt, especially when the people are paying for the war even if they buy a cake of soap.

In this backdrop, the UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe along with Charlie Mahendren who has been described as the 'shadow Foreign Minister' by insiders met the Indian High Commissioner Shiv Shanker Menon at dinner. They discussed various subjects, including India's attitude towards the LTTE. Mr. Menon said India's stand had not changed and it was not supportive of the LTTE. But another diplomat who spoke to this column did not rule out the possibility of certain sections of the BJP supporting the LTTE.

The opposition leader subsequently left for a far eastern country for a brief holiday.

Amidst all this comes the sudden resignation of the AirLanka Chairman Harry Jayawardena. It is said he had personally handed over his resignation to President Kumaratunga who told him to wait for some time. But it appears that pressures are too much for Mr. Jayawardena to continue in the post even for another day. Hence, the resignation. It is learnt that Mr. Jayawardena's approval had been sought by the AirLanka authorities to lease out the airbus at a monthly rental of 790,000 US dollars and he had apparently received a note that the approval should come within two hours, failing which they would assume that permission had been granted. Mr. Jayawardena who was waiting for an opportunity to quit AirLanka made use of this. But after his resignation, the decision to lease out an airbus had been shelved.

At the weekly meeting of the ministers, a record number of 126 cabinet papers were passed. A cabinet paper presented by Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar based on a committee report headed by Dr. Rohan Perera to pay compensation to a US firm was discussed at length.

The firm Evans International had claimed millions of US dollars as compensation for a cancellation of a contract given to it to rebuild the financial district of Fort.

The committee went into the matter and brought down the claim to less than 4 million US dollars after negotiating with the firm.

Soon after the Central Bank bomb explosion in January 1996, affected parties in the heart of the financial district of Fort including Ceylinco Group along with the UDA floated a company by the name of Centre Point and appointed Evans International as their foreign collaborator. Evans International did all the spade work to rebuild the Fort area and Exim Bank of US agreed to grant a loan under a government guarantee.

However, the government was reluctant to give the guarantee since the demand for space in the Fort area fell drastically. By this time, Centre Point had finalised negotiations and had issued letters of consent to Evans International which prepared plans to rebuild the Fort area. Since the government backed out, the whole project came to an abrupt halt and the American firm made a claim for several million dollars.

When the matter came up in the Cabinet on Wednesday, President Kumaratunga sought approval to pay compensation to Evans International. At this point, several ministers raised questions as to why this is being paid and on what basis.

Minister Kingsley Wickremaratne asked why the contract could not be awarded to this firm so that the country could save the huge amount paid as compensation. President Kumaratunga said it would be a complicated matter and the government would have to give a guarantee for the loans. In the circumstances, she said the only way out was to pay the compensation as recommended by the committee.

Minister C.V. Gooneratne recalled how they had criticised former UNP Minister Gamini Dissanayake for agreeing to pay compensation to a foreign company on similar grounds.

"Are we not doing the same thing," he asked. Other ministers wanted to know as to who had recommended Evans International. The President said it was the UDA that recommended Evans International while others claimed the Central Bank also has a hand. Finally, the President deferred a decision on the matter until it was further discussed.

The ministers also discussed matters pertaining to the new central bus stand in Kandy. The cabinet paper on this quoted 40 million rupees as costs. Kandy District Ministers Anuruddha Ratwatte and D.M. Jayaratne supported it. But the President asked why so much was being spent to build a bus stand. She asked as to who had prepared the estimate.

Minister Indika Gunawardena said that if the government wants to build a good bus stand with modern facilities, it had to spend something like Rs. 40 million. He said the estimate had been prepared by the Buildings Department. The President insisted the cost was too high and could be reduced by more than Rs. 10 million. Thereafter the ministers discussed their strategy for the North Western Provincial elections.

The President said that the PA would start its campaign by December 20 and appointed an overall organising committee headed by herself. The other members are Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Anuruddha Ratwatte, D.M. Jayaratne, Dharmasiri Senanayake and Richard Pathirana, while Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera would handle the propaganda part of it.

The President also changed her earlier decision to put Ratnasiri Wickremanayake in charge of the Puttalam district and instead nominated Minister Jayaratne who for a moment wondered as to why he was put in charge of Puttalam. The President also appointed Dharmasiri Senanayake to be in charge of Kurunegala while the other ministers had been assigned to the respective electorates.

When it came to the Anamaduwa electorate, the President asked who was willing to take charge of it.

S.B. Dissanayake volunteered, claiming he was the only person who could control the controversial D.M. Dassanayake there.

Thereafter, President Kumaratunga requested Minister Ratwatte to explain the strategy in the NWP. Gen. Ratwatte drew examples from the Southern Provincial Council which the PA won during the UNP regime. When Minister Ratwatte said he needed to carry out a house-to-house survey, Minister Samaraweera interrupted, but Minister Ratwatte continued ignoring all interruptions until President Kumaratunga interjected. "We did not do any survey in the South," the President said "but went on with a series of meetings."

"What you say is correct, but a survey was also done," replied Mr. Ratwatte.

The President later requested all her ministers to start the campaign from December 20 and directed that all the ministers should be within their respective electorates for the campaign.

Beside these, the government and the opposition met a delegation from South Africa. The government delegation told the South Africans that the implementation of the proposed constitutional reforms was being delayed because of the non-co-operation of the UNP. The government delegation said talks with the LTTE should be held only after the rebels were militarily weakened.

The South African delegation also met the opposition leader who told them that the UNP's alternative proposals were based on the model of the South African constitution.

He said the government had failed to discuss the UNP's alternative proposals as promised. As the week ended, this column learnt that the President has directed the Attorney-General to prepare draft legislation based on government proposals to solve the ethnic crisis.

But it is not clear whether this Bill will be presented to Parliament this month.

Situation Report

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